This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 89115834, filed Aug. 7, 2000.
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a dual damascene structure. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of forming a dual damascene opening capable of reducing the degree of interaction between low dielectric constant material and photoresist material.
2. Description of Related Art
Operating speed is often a principle consideration for customers when choosing a particular brand of semiconductor products. At present, major factors that may affect the operating speed of a device include the resistivity of conducting wires and parasitic capacitance of the inter-layer dielectric layer. To reduce wire resistance, low resistance metallic material is often used to form the conducting wires. To improve inter-layer parasitic capacitance, material having a low dielectric constant is frequently employed to form the insulation layer between metallic interconnects.
In general, conventional metallic interconnects are fabricated by forming a metal plug in a dielectric layer followed by depositing aluminum material over the metal plug to form an aluminum wire. Dual damascene technique is a low-cost, highly reliable method of fabricating metallic lines in an integrated circuit. Moreover, the metallic material for forming the-metallic interconnects in a dual damascene structure can be etched without much restriction. Hence, dual damascene techniques are frequently used to form low resistance copper wires for increasing the operating speed of circuit devices. As the level of integration of devices continues to increase, the use of low dielectric constant material to fabricate dual damascene structures is fast becoming the standard in the semiconductor industry.
FIGS. 1A through 1D are schematic cross-sectional views showing the progression of steps for fabricating a conventional dual damascene structure. As shown in FIG. 1A, a substrate 100 having a metallic layer 102 therein is provided. A dielectric layer 104, an etching stop layer 106 and a dielectric layer 108 are sequentially formed over the substrate 100. A photoresist layer 110 is next formed over the dielectric layer 108. Conventional photolithographic technique is applied to pattern the photoresist layer 110 so that location of a via opening is defined.
As shown in FIG. 1B, using the photoresist layer 110 as an etching mask, the dielectric layer 108, the etching stop layer 106 and the dielectric layer 104 are sequentially etched to form a via opening 112 that exposes the metallic layer 102. The photoresist layer 110 is removed and then another photoresist layer 114 is formed over the substrate 100. Conventional photolithographic technique is again applied to pattern the photoresist layer 114 so that location of a trench is defined.
As shown in FIG. 1C, while using the photoresist layer 114 as an etching mask and the etching stop layer 108 as an etching stop, the dielectric layer 108 is etched to form a trench 116. In the subsequent step, the photoresist layer 114 is removed and then, as shown in FIG. 1D, metal is deposited into the trench 116 and the via opening 112 to form a metallic layer 118. Ultimately, a dual damascene structure having a cross-sectional profile is formed.
As the level of integration continues to increase, parasitic capacitance that results from the inter-metal dielectric layer is intensified. In particular, low dielectric constant material is frequently employed to form the inter-metal dielectric layer in the manufacturing of deep sub-micron devices so that effects due to resistance-capacitance time delay are reduced. However, common photoresist material is composed of high molecular weight substances and most high dielectric constant material is composed of organic high molecular weight compounds. Consequently, in the photolithographic patterning of the photoresist layers 110 and 114, organic low dielectric constant material may react chemically with the photoresist material. The resultant products of the reactions may adhere to the surface of the dual damascene contact to form a residue that is impossible to remove in a subsequent cleaning operation. Furthermore, before the dielectric layer 108 is etched to form the trench 116, photoresist material is often deposited into the via opening 112 to serve as a hard mask so that the metallic layer 102 is protected. This photoresist material often reacts with nearby low dielectric constant material to form a residue. The residue damages the ideal profile of a dual damascene structure and affects the uniformity of a subsequently formed copper seeding layer. A non-linear copper seeding layer often result in the formation of low-quality copper lines.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a method of forming a dual damascene structure capable of lowering a parasitic effect by using low dielectric constant material so that highly integrated device circuits are formed. In addition, the method is capable of preventing any chemical reaction between photoresist and dielectric material and thus avoids formation of difficult-to-remove residues on the sidewalls of via openings. Hence, an ideal profile of the dual damascene structure can be preserved.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the invention provides a method of forming a dual damascene structure. A first dielectric layer, an etching stop layer, a second dielectric layer and a hard mask layer are sequentially formed over a substrate. Photolithographic and etching operations are conducted to remove portions of the hard mask layer, the second dielectric layer, the etching stop layer and the first dielectric layer so that a via opening is formed. A conformal dielectric layer is formed on the surface of the hard mask layer and the interior surface of the via opening. An anisotropic etching operation is carried out to remove the conformal dielectric layer from the surface of the hard mask layer and the bottom of the via opening so that spacers are formed on the sidewalls of the via opening. A patterned photoresist layer is formed over the hard mask layer. Using the patterned photoresist layer as a mask, a portion of the second dielectric layer is removed to form a trench. The patterned photoresist layer is removed. Conductive material is deposited over the substrate to fill the via opening and the trench. Finally, chemical-mechanical polishing is conducted to remove excess conductive material above the hard mask layer.
In the embodiment of this invention, the spacers serve as a partition that separates the photoresist material from the low dielectric constant material during photoresist coating and developing steps. Consequently, the low dielectric constant first and second dielectric layers are prevented from reacting with photoresist material and the intended dual damascene profile is preserved. The low dielectric constant layer can be a silicon oxide layer formed by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.